Berry Good

Finland native Anni Kravi is something of a double agent – software by day, soul food by night. Currently in the throes of her masters thesis in IT, the 20-something Helsinki-based ‘freelance foodie’ balances several side projects that have sprouted from her healthy-living blog, Blueberry Boost. Here’s what this bright young thing has to say about it all.

What’s your background in healthy eating?

I did jazz dance regularly when I was younger so healthy eating kind of came alongside. I also have some food intolerances like lactose that have made me pay more and more attention to what I eat. The main driver and the reason why I want to keep up with this healthy eating, however, is simply the overall good feeling and higher energy levels that result from it.

Why a blog?

I had been playing with these healthy recipes for a while when I got the idea of starting to photograph and post them on Instagram, firstly just for friends and my own enjoyment. I’ve always wanted to try and create things myself; drawing, writing, photography and cooking are long-time passions of mine, so I guess what I started doing was just a new way of combining some of these. At some point I started receiving so many questions on Instagram that I wanted to create a place to store all the recipes and share them, so that everyone could try them.

There are several brands that I work with thanks to the blog and Instagram – mostly health food and natural cosmetics brands, ones that I like and use often and therefore also find easy to promote and stand behind. I’m also collaborating with some of the restaurants in Helsinki, for example, taking care of social media and contributing to other things like the visual look of dishes.

What’s the secret to keeping people captivated by your feed?

‘Visuality’ is definitely the most capturing thing on my feed – making healthy food not look boring but colourful, fresh and I guess, even artistic. I think some of the ingredients I use often, like bee pollen, edible flowers and Nordic berries such as sea buckthorn, seem exotic to many people and therefore catch their eye.

Best advice for budding bloggers out there?

Stick to originality. Firstly, you must have a strong vision, something that makes you original. You need that vision and your own differentiating style to create enough content that will make you stand out and get people interested. Then, just keep on, listen and reply to feedback, improve if needed. Be patient.